1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to liquid containers and more particularly, to a container, decanter, or pot for carrying hot liquids, such as coffee and the like, and having an exterior shock absorber ring or band.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known, coffee, tea and other hot beverages or soups are commonly served in glass containers, decanters, or pots. Such liquids often are elevated to boiling temperatures capable of scalding the skin of an individual and inflicting serious injury, some involving third degree burns. One cause of burns from hot beverages, such as coffee, has frequently resulted from the service techniques of servers in restaurants and the like. For example, a waiter or waitress may have to serve either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee to particular customers at a table. For convenience, the servers will simultaneously carry two separate containers or decanters of hot caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee to a table for pouring. On occasion the waitresses or waiters carry the two separate glass pots in one hand and the containers bump into each other.
In certain cases, the two decanters hit each other with a force sufficient to break at least one of the decanters and spill dangerously hot coffee on a customer who sustains injury. In other situations, the contact creates a crack to form a weakened stress area. This condition of the cracked container is often overlooked by the server, and the decanter eventually shatters to potentially cause serious burns to individuals.
For many reasons, glass decanters are the preferred containers for serving hot coffee and the like. None of the known containers formed from glass or other equally fragile material have effectively solved the serious problem of breakage of glass service containers as frequented in use in the manner previously discussed.